Katiecakes The Culebra Slayer
by ZC70
Summary: Kate learns to defend herself, her family and maybe, just maybe she'll get that bright shiny future
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Crossbows and Swimming Pools

It's been 18 months since she drove away from Seth on that deserted Mexican back road.

16 months since she has learnt to accurately shoot both a hand gun and a rifle.

15 months since she learnt how to throw a knife and hit a target, just as well as Richie could.

14 months since she had put together her own arsenal complete with her trusty crossbow.

There was no going back after she had learnt about Culebras. It was almost like they could smell the knowledge on her, either that or they could sense when she recognised them. Maybe it was pheromones or maybe she had a Tell, didn't matter which, the consequences were the same.

Life away from Seth was supposed to be simpler, less life and death on a daily basis and certainly less crime. Simple plan right? Go home, save your brother, finish high school. Christ! Had she really been that naïve?

The simple plan disintegrated the moment she walked through the door of her childhood home. That night all her hopes came crashing down around her ears, in truth without Freddie's help she'd be a Culebra already, damn Scott and his stupid ass ideas. Without Freddie's help she would be alone at best, at worst she'd be very, very dead.

They had managed to save her brother from himself, but it came with a hefty and bloody price. Staying home wasn't an option when you're a Culebra magnet and your brother is a blood sucker. Bethel may not have been the best town to grow up in, but she had friends and people who had respected her parents living there. There was no way that she was staying here to bring this hell upon them.

As to high school, she had learnt new skills aplenty, but these new skills were learnt in fields, on the road and involved weapons and targets. These skills weren't going to get her a high school diploma. Kate had needed to learn how to defend herself, how to kill Culebras, it was the only way she had survived.

Unfortunately Culebra hunter has a very poor wage. Nobody hired them to take out the nest of monsters living of the necking students in the park. There was no insurance or health care package with this job, but there was definitely a lot of hurt and pain. So she'd had to take a leaf out of The Gecko's book and added some crime into her hunting. She'd learnt how to con and grift with the best of them, her pretty, innocent preacher daughter face was a gift in this game. Nothing to make her rich, but enough to keep a roof over their heads when needed, enough to feed them, repair them, clothe them and enough to cover ammunition. Freddie really didn't approve, but his meagre wage was definitely not going to cover their expenses.

18 months down the line and life was definitely not simpler, the crimes were less violent and the deaths more ash than blood. The number of Culebras nests they were finding seemed to have lessened. She's not sure if this is her, Freddie and Scott's doing or if it's The Gecko's doing. During the time they have been fighting, they've heard rumours about the brothers and sometimes about the Goddess. They've never crossed paths with them, but have sometimes seen the aftermath of a Gecko takedown, burning buildings, piles of ash and blood spatter.

Kate's not sure if the uncrossed paths is a good thing or not. She has tried to put them to the back of her mind, focus on what's right in front of her. They fight, they kill, they eat, they sleep and they try to keep her fucked up little family alive and safe. They try to end whatever was started at the Titty Twister, so Kate can have a simpler life and Freddie can finally get back his wife and daughter.

It's in the still moments of the night when they are locked down, secure, lights out, rooms quiet that Kate imagines what life will be after this. She wonders what's next? What will the future hold for Kate Fuller?

She has a favourite fantasy that she likes to dream about, there's a nice open bright house, with a pool overlooking the ocean. She's lying by the pool in the brilliant sunshine, relaxing and enjoying the warm fresh air. She hears the laughter of a couple of kids running around, followed by the distinct deeper laugh of a man chasing them around the pool.

Kate opens her eyes to see a pair of young kids with dark hair splashing around. The girl has long hair that is curling due to the water, the boy's hair is short shaved. They look about 6 or 7 years old and have obviously been brought up around the water, with the way they are diving and splashing to get away from the tanned dark haired man chasing them.

He catches the girl and swings her up and around, so that they are both grinning and laughing in Kate's direction. It's at this point of the fantasy that Kate's heart has a little Stutter. Grinning at her across the pool is a very wet, happy and bare chested Seth Gecko holding in his arms, what in her heart of heart she knows is their daughter.

She never delves any deeper into this fantasy world, she doesn't think that it would be good for her to imagine this life and how things could be. What it would be like to have kids, what it would be like to have Seth. She doesn't let her imagination take her to the place where Seth Gecko holds her, kisses her, where they make love and have a life together, but she keeps that image of him with their daughter in the pool close, like a snapshot in her mind.

She refers back to it every time she needs to remind herself why she shouldn't just lie down and die, why she needs to keep fighting. For Kate knows that there will be no idyllic afternoons by the pool, there will be no kids and there will be no happy, tanned and gorgeous husband until this is finshed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 Ricky Sings My Song**

Private Emotion

Every endless night has a dawning day.  
Every darkest sky has a shining ray  
And it shines on you baby can't you see  
You're the only one who can shine for me  
-Ricky Martin

Seth stands on the wooden porch of their latest hideout, watching the first inches of daylight starting to creep over the distant horizon. Sighing to himself, he rubs his right hand through his gritty hair as he looks down over his ash and gore covered slacks.

 _Hell, he needs a shower bad._

Taking a hefty slug from his beer bottle, he turns back into the room hoping that Richie is finished with the shower.

"It's all yours," Richie says, face obscured by the towel he's roughly running over his head.

"Great," Seth mutters, walking towards the shower room, grabbing a couple of towels on the way.

The shower is one of the few places that Seth allowed his thoughts to run riot- a safe place of contemplation where no-one hears his moans or sobs. Tonight, however, there will be no sobs. Their latest sortie had been a complete success. They're getting closer to their goal and everybody had got out unscathed so tonight he wants only to remind himself why he's still fighting this fight.

Leaning against the shower wall, forearms resting on either side of the shower head, Seth lets the hot water to pelt down on his back easing his tensed muscles. With eyes closed and the tension beginning to ease, Seth lets his mind drift to the shining ray of light that keeps him going. He pictures her mainly with a smile on her face- smiles that had not come often, but when they did her whole face lit up.

He remembers the feel and smell of her long dark hair, soft with the aroma of vanilla. He remembers the paleness of her skin against his bronze skin and the smattering of freckles that run across her cheeks. Submerging himself deeper into his memories- into the areas he believed made him a bad man- he begins to picture in his head her glossy, pink cupid bow lips, the gentle upward curve of her pert breasts, and the full roundness of her small ass.

It had been 18 months and Seth had not forgotten any aspect of Kate's perfection.

As he stands under the cascading water, he imagines feeling the firmness of her ass against his palms as he pulls her against him. He can almost taste the slight saltiness of her neck as he imagines sucking on her pulse point, he pictures her hands grasping his shoulders for support when he grounds his aching erection against her core. He feels himself getting hard as he lets his imagination roam over thoughts of Kate and how she would feel in his arms.

Sliding his left arm down from the shower wall, he wraps his hand around his semi hard cock and with a firm grasp, he starts pumping his hand up and down in a steady motion. Resting his forehead against his right arm, he pictures laying Kate down against a clean white bed and helping her to remove her clothes. He watches Kate pulling her top over her head as he unclasps her jeans and pulling both jeans and her panties slowly down her legs. She sits up to remove her bra as Seth kneels at the bottom of the bed admiring the shining Goddess before him.

Now fully hard and aching in his hand, his imagination has to provide the images past this point. Even though he has admired, lusted after and loved Kate, he's never acted on these wants and needs. He can easily imagine her half dressed, as she'd spent a frustrating amount of time dressed in skimpy clothing trying to combat the Mexican heat. He has vivid pictures of most of her bare flesh dancing around his head, but he'd never seen her breasts uncovered and could only dream that her nipples are a similar pink to her lips- just a shade or two darker than her pink skin. He's also pretty sure that her pussy will be covered in a sparse layer of dark curls, but he this is only what he imagines.

Ignoring the missing parts of his fantasy Kate, he plunges back into his imagination and pictures Kate her lying before him with her head flung back and breasts pointing towards the ceiling, he pictures gathering her thighs against his sides and thrusting inside her. He imagines it is Kate wrapped around his cock as his hand squeezes and pumps himself faster and harder. It doesn't take long for his fantasy to fuel the heat spikes starting at the base of his spine, he gasps out loud as he jerks himself through a knee trembling orgasm.

Getting his breathing under control, Seth chuckles to himself. One of these days, he's going to find out the colour of Kate's nipples, how thick the hair grows over her mound, and exactly what she tastes like when she's coming on his tongue.

Finally managing to get clean and recovering from the shaking in his legs, Seth switches off the shower before stepping out and wrapping a towel around his waist. He heads back into the bedroom to see Richie's leaning back on one of the beds grinning at him.

"So," he drawls. "-how was Kate this morning?"

 _So much for a private emotion; nothing is hidden from his brother._

Seeing as there is no point in avoiding it, Seth grins back at his brother. "Fucking awesome!" He'd just had a fantastic orgasm while fantasizing about his girl, he's now on the right side of happy. Richie's snark wasn't going to spoil this.

"Happy for you, bro. There would be no point to this hell without the arms of a beautiful woman at the end of this."

Seth couldn't agree more as he collapses onto his bed, clothes forgotten and hoping the towel remained closed so he wasn't giving his brother a free show.


	3. Chapter 3

Seth wakes with a sudden jerk- head bouncing up quickly only to fall back to its original position of hanging low over his chest. Legs twitching in front of him as his calf and thigh muscles tense with awareness and his back spasms sharply against the back bars of the chair he's apparently sitting on. Drowsily, he goes to wipe the forced sleep from his eyes only to find he's unable to move his arms. Confusion begins to cloud his mind and he quickly shakes his head to clear the fuzziness. Slowly lifting his head up, Seth opens his eyes to get a bearing on what the _hell_ is going on.

Looking around, he realizes he's in a large stone room. A fire is roaring in the hearth in front of him- blasting heat and light into the room- and it's doing a good job too as the room looks as if it would be dark and cold without it. Turning his head from left to right as far as he can, he gets a pretty good layout of the room- one door; a big ass desk; rug on the floor, and not much else by the looks of it. It also seems like Seth is alone in the room, unless someone is being very quiet and lurking in one of the dark corners.

Looking down to see what is wrong with his arms, Seth finds that his jacket and shirt are gone, and he's been left in just his undershirt and trousers. His arms are pulled tightly behind him and when he flexes, he can feel the rope scraping against the tender skin of his inner wrists.

 _Fuck! Looks like I'm tied to the chair_.

He tries twisting his wrists, pulling at the restraints, but nothing gives. He then tries to stand up, maybe he can get to the wall and somehow batter the chair into submission. He's stuck, his feet are just as firmly tied to the chair as his arms are.

Letting his chin drop to his chest once more and closing his eyes again, Seth tries to remember just exactly _how_ he got into this mess. They'd planned to finally take down Malvado, having managed to locate his latest hideout under another bar/diner (Malvado was a wily creature, but quite a creature of habit it appeared). They'd fought their way through several previous versions of the Titty Twister over the past months- although none were quite so elaborate as the original. Malvado had always managed to slip from their grasp- long gone before the brothers took down his men and his livelihood.

Richie and Seth had staked out this latest bar for several weeks, tracking the movements of merchandise, and noting the amount of regular workforce/flunkies. Only wanting to attack when they were sure that Malvado would be present, they agreed that the timing had to be right and that Malvado needed to be almost defenseless without the usual amount of cannon fodder from previous hits, so he couldn't make his escape. They'd become very competent at killing Culebra and to quote Samuel L. Jackson, the Geckos had become the weapons you used _**"when you absolutely, positively, got to kill every motherfucker in the room."**_

They'd figured out the perfect day for the attack. On a regular basis, many of the flunkies leave under the cover of night, for a couple of days and return with trucks containing people. Seth had been sick to his stomach having to sit back and watch the humans being frog marched into the bar, never to be seen again. He'd only managed to hold himself back with the knowledge that they _were_ going to defeat Malvado as soon as possible and put a stop to this once and for all.

Groaning to himself, Seth begins to knit the missing pieces of his memory back together. They'd kept to the plan, they'd waited until the trucks had all left and the bar was in full swing. There would be plenty of bodies and noise to allow them to slip in and take out the last few guards without causing a scene. The brothers had made their way through to back of the bar without too much ruckus- they'd been fully equipped and ready to kick ass- and there they'd found the elevator that would take them into the depths of Malvado's lair.

Inside the elevator, they'd taken out the weapons concealed in the bags that they carried. Seth had stakes hanging in special pockets on the inside of his jacket, a holster under each arm with a fully loaded revolver in each, and a shotgun in his hands. Richie was equally equipped with the added bonus of extra strength and wicked fangs.

The last thing that Seth can fully remember is the elevator stopping with a sudden jolt. This had caused both men to pull their shotguns into an upright position and jump to either side of the door- their backs and turned faces pressed against the wall so they were looking at each other. They were ready to deal with anything or anyone waiting for them when the doors finally opened.

As the doors slid fully open and no-one entered the elevator from the corridor, Seth had let out a quiet sigh of relief before nodding at Richie to instigate action. The brothers led with their shotguns before popping their heads out to make sure their side of the corridor was free. Nothing was seen by either Richie or Seth so they had moved out of the elevator and headed to the left in search of Malvado, and then _nothing_.

Seth assumes that maybe the corridor wasn't as empty as they thought and someone had managed to cold-cock him.

Dread begins to trickle down Seth's spine with that final thought. He's here tied to a chair, some clothes missing, but relatively unscathed (slight headache and raw wrists) and totally alone. The question running around his mind causing this intense feeling of dread is- _"Where the hell is Richie?"_

* * *

Richie's mind is much less cluttered with dread- in fact he's rather happy that his brother isn't with him at the moment. He's pretty sure if Seth had been in the room, then Seth would be dead and even if he has to suffer through this pain and torture to finally die alone, it's better than the alternative of having to watch his brother die a slow and painful death. (He's positive that Malvado wouldn't make Seth's death a quick one, he would draw it out for his own pleasure and for Richie's pain.)

The Lord had started his torture by biting Richie- part draining him and turning his neck into a bloody, torn, weeping wound– which had hurt like a _motherfucker_. Malvado's intent was to see into Richie's mind and to find Santanico's location, but fortunately for them, they'd known that this was a possibility and had prepared for it in advance.

Richie had no idea where Santanico was- she had set off without a backwards glance with her own agenda. They had discussed the brother's plan only and had not spoken about her plan at all. So her plan and location are completely absent from both Richie and Seth's minds, the only thing that Malvado could possible glean from them was her car driving away. _That_ there is another reason for Richie's good humour, even though he's tied to a wall as his undead life's blood slowly seeps from each of the tiny cuts that Malvado and his goons had been slashing into his body over and over for the past several hours- reopening each cut as soon as it healed until he'd lost so much blood that the wounds had stopped healing. He's pleased that Malvado will not get to Santanico because of him or Seth

Malvado has been constantly asking him about Santanico , how to find her, where has she gone and what is she planning. He's been taking great pleasure in torturing him, using his sharp golden nail to slash open Richie's skin, allowing his blood to flow out and down his bare chest and arms. The blood forming little rivers of red as it flows down chest, soaking into his pants. The blood from, his strung out, arms coalescing into large drops before becoming too heavy and falling to the stone floor with subdued splash- he thinks he must look Dali's "Crucifixion", more bloody, but less naked.

The torture is pointless, but without end- all Richie can say is, " _I don't know_."

Richie has not felt this weak since he's been a Culebra, and he's pretty sure that without help he's not going to make it out this time. This thought actually causes him to _smile_ and he's pretty sure that the euphoria is now due to the blood loss and not just being grateful that he's the only one suffering.

 _He really hopes that his girl has a back up plan._

He tries to raise his head when he hears the door of his prison opening, but the energy it would take is beyond him.

"Well, well, well, _Richard_. Looks like we're going to have to start on your _hermano_ to get my answers," Malvado drawls out. Gripping Richie's hair tightly and pulling his head back to look into his eyes, he says with a rueful smile, "I only started on you first as I knew that it would take a long time for you to die, but I can see that you really are willing to die for her. She does seem to inspire incredible loyalty- you only need to look at poor Carlito as an example. That poor, poor _pendejo_ has been her devoted slave for centuries and look at what she does to him! She runs away with a low life criminal in a _cheap suit_."

Malvado suddenly lets go of Richie's hair, causing his head to drop back onto his chest before Richie can spit out any scathing retort – probably just as well as he doubts that his dry throat would be able to say much.

"If you're lucky, _Ricardo_ , I might let you down from the wall once I've got what I need from Seth. Imagine the smell of that hot blood pumping through his veins when I break him. Do you think you could resist him if you were free?"

If Richie's heart was still beating, it would have stopped at the image Malvado just helped conjure up. The blood loss euphoria is cut dead as he imagines the worst possible scenario and he just hopes that he's succumbed to his wounds before Malvado is finished with Seth. He would go insane if he killed his own brother to quench his thirst, and even worse if he was selfish and turned him, then Seth would never ever forgive him.

Richie closes his eyes and thinks about his girl. He'd hoped that they could help her to be free, that they could be the heroes in her messed up history of slavery and pain. "I'm sorry my love," he whispers out loud in the hopes that she still has some contact with him- that she can in someway hear his apology, "I cannot be there for you if it means I will kill my brother. I cannot live with that burden."

Richie finally allows despair to seep into his bones and muscles as he sags fully in his restraints. _Death could not come soon enough._


	4. Chapter 4

The feeling of cold air hitting his bruised and battered body is the first indication to Seth that someone has entered the room. His plight is exponentially worse than the last time he had awoken- he's no longer tied to a chair and can now move his legs, but now he is hanging from chains attached to the ceiling of Malvado's throne room. He's convinced the chair was the better mode of containment.

He's endured what felt like hours of beatings where Malvado's men had pummeled into him as the Lord himself stood back demanding answers to his questions- questions all about Santanico.

" _Where is she?!"  
"What are her plans?!" _

On and on he had gone as Seth's body had turned into a temple of pain. Seth had tried to remain quiet and not allow Malvado the pleasure of breaking his silence, but in the end and even though he's endured beatings before, this one had managed to break him. He had been unable to stop some of his wit making it's presence known, and he'd had to show off and tell Malvado just how well they duped him. There was no way that he'd be able to get any information about Santanico out of him. He distinctly remembers laughing in Malvado's face, when he informed him of this. Unfortunately he could barely tell whether his snark had had any effect on Malvado as his right eye was so swollen he couldn't see out of it and the blood running down his face had obscured his left eye. In any event, he'd been unable to gloat for long as the next punch from his left had caused his head to snap back and oblivion had soon followed.

Seth keeps his head bowed and allows himself to remain hanging loose so that whoever enters the room will not know that he is awake. He doesn't want to incite them into anymore abuse as he cannot tell Malvado what he wants to know and at this point more punches would just push him closer to an early grave. He is perfectly aware of how bad his situation is, but is not ready to concede defeat- not until his heart gives out that final beat will he truly believe that he can't be saved.

Seriously he's a Gecko and _Geckos do not go quietly_.

As he does his best not to smirk at his own snark, Seth is aware the someone moving further in the room. The room is much quieter than it was during his beating- no Malvado barking out questions, no sounds of flesh smashing into flesh and no grunts of pain. He's pretty sure they had left him alone when he was unconcious seeing as no-one has made a sound since he'd first regained awareness.

Before he can consider who it might be that has entered the room, his hair is painfully grasped and his head jerked back so that the unknown someone can look him in the face. Seth tries not to resist so he can keep the facade of being unconscious, but he can't help the slight gasp of pain that is released from his blistered fat lips. Everything hurts and pulling his hair seems to connect all the pain together so he feels like he is on fire.

"It seems that you _hermanos Gecko_ wiped your secrets exceptionally well. I'd be impressed if it wasn't for your present situation. Really it's a pity that you had no idea what you were facing coming into my way station." From the voice, it is obvious to Seth that this is Malvado speaking and clasping his hair in a punishing hold. "If this was another life, I feel we could have worked well together. I do admire your wit and your skills, but in the end you are just two little boys with something that doesn't belong to you!"

Seth realises that his pretense of unconciousness is not going to save him so he does his best to open his only good eye and look at Malvado.

"That's better," Malvado says with a grin when he sees Seth squinting at him. "I want you to be able to watch what happens next. It really would be no fun letting your ravenous _hermano_ loose on you if I cannot watch the fear and despair flash in your eyes when he attacks."

Seth is unable to speak- this is the first mention of Richie since the beatings started. He is very happy to hear that his brother is still alive. Part of him had worried that Richie's fate quick death as he was the one who had _stolen_ Santanico. The happiness is fleeting, as at the forefront of his mind is the chest tightening fear that spreads through him at the thought of becoming a culebra's kill- especially if that culebra is his only brother.

Through the haze of dread and fear that is coursing through his mind, Seth hears the end of Malvado's next speech _– the man really seems to like the sound of his own voice_ \- "..first I think we'll make you even more enticing for Richard. I think I'll take some of your face," the Lord spits at him.

Seth immediately tenses up causing all his bruising to start screaming. He has no idea what Malvado meant by that last comment, but it certainly couldn't be anything good. His body gets ready to deflect whatever is coming next and the adrenaline starts coursing through his body. Malvado's hand pulls on his hair more to keep his face in place, and Seth tries to twist and turn to get out of his grasp, but the hold is just too strong and tight. He barely sees the flash of gold as Malvado's free hand moves towards his forehead, but he certainly feels the sharp jab of his malicious ring as it begins to cut through the layers of skin on Seth's head.

Seth can't help the groan of pain that escapes his lips as Malvado slowly moves the ring embedded in his skin across his forehead. His blood runs down is face only to obscure his good eye and pooling into his mouth making Seth need to chose between swallowing or spitting. Choice made, Seth- with his last bit of adrenaline- rears back slightly and spits the blood out at Malvado causing the Lord to pause with the cutting. Seth can feel the ring being pulled out of his skin as Malvado, he assumes, wipes the blood from his own face. Too quickly the ring is back and Seth fights not to start screaming. He's about to give into the need to cry out in pain and surrender to the impending darkness when he hears a swish of sound that is completely different from any of the previous sounds in the room. This is quickly followed by Malvado's grip loosening both on his hair and face. Then pulling back immediately from the Lord's grip as it loosens, he hears a grunt from Malvado.

Seth can hear noises and grunts and what sounds like fighting, but he can't see anything. He's no longer being held by Malvado and no-one seems to be touching him, so he tries desperately to wipe some of the blood in his eye away on his trapped arms. With little success, he can see some violent movement in the room and hear Malvado pleading and saying something about _El Rey_ before the room lights up the colour of flames. Before his mind can fully process the jumbled glimpses and muffled sounds, someone is touching him. The touch is nothing like the previous ones- this one is positively gentle and accompanied by a soothing voice.

"Seth- Seth, baby, can you hear me? My God what have they done to you? It's okay- you're going to be okay," says the soothing female voice as she gently touches his face and attempts to draw his eyes to hers.

"Freddie!" She calls out. "Get over here and help me get him down."

Seth tries his best to clear his vision as he's pretty sure he's hearing things- after all, it wouldn't be the first time he's had a hallucination about Kate. "Kate?" He manages to whisper at the blurred presence in front of him that is gently holding his head up.

"Yes, baby, it's me."

If he had any control over his facial muscles at that precise moment, Seth would be smiling and as he slowly slips back into oblivion, he doesn't care if he is hallucinating because Kate is there taking away his pain and she'd called him _baby._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary:**

 **What Santanico is getting up to whilst the Gecko brothers are storming Malvado's Lair.**

* * *

Kate is outside looking up at the safe house, it's not the best one that they've stayed in, but it's also not the worst - the roof is intact, the water is still on and there's a wood fired stove. Kate had long ago reconciled herself to this life on the road, where nowhere felt like home anymore and joy was a feeling that she could only vaguely remember.

She's standing by Freddie's truck, removing the nights hunting gear and watching as the very last remnants of the night are beginning to fade. The house is quite isolated which fits perfectly with their needs, so she feels quite justified when her whole body tenses at the sound of an engine roaring in the close vicinity.

Dropping their gear back into the bed of the truck, Kate quickly grabs the revolver and places it behind her back as she turns to confront the loud roar heading in her direction. She's surprised to see the flashy looking motorbike drawing to a stop in front of her since she doesn't know anyone who rides a bike, and it definitely looks like this person has intended to end up outside their house.

The rider is obviously a woman and Kate can't help but feel that the rider looks familiar even though they are covered from head to foot in leather with a helmet that is opaque. Relaxing her grip slightly on the gun behind her back, Kate remains still, but primed, in front of the bike waiting for the driver to reveal herself.

The rider punches down the bike stand with her foot and goes to remove the helmet all whilst still straddling the beast. Taking the helmet off and shaking out her long dark hair is none other than _Santanico_. Kate's mouth gapes slightly at the sight of the woman on the bike- she knew that the person on the bike was familiar, but her brain had not made the final connection- so she's more than a little surprised to see the _Dancing Queen_ throwing her leg over the side of the bike as she dismounts and heads towards Kate.

Swinging her gun in front of her and pointing it directly at Santanico's heart, Kate barks at her, "What the Fuck do you want?"

The so-called Culebra Queen immediately brings up both her hands, palms facing Kate in a placating manner. "Don't shoot! I mean no harm, Katerina. I'm here to ask for your help."

Kate doesn't loosen her grip on the gun or drop it's aim. Last time she'd seen Santanico, she'd just turned Richie and her minions had eaten an entire bar full of people. There is no way she is giving her edge away to this Culebra in front of her, so Kate doesn't say anything and just motions the gun towards the house. Santanico gets the gesture quickly and moves towards the house with her hands in the air to show her acceptance of the situation.

Walking into the front room with the Dancing Queen at gun point is totally not how Kate had seen this evening going, and from the looks on Scott's face and later on Freddie's as he wanders in from the kitchen, it wasn't what they had expected either. Settling Santanico down on the couch, the three of them then stand before her and stare down at Santanico- Kate with her gun still trained on her, Scott fiddling with one sword in his right hand and Freddie looking stoic as usual.

"Well, talk then," says Freddie. Kate wonders if he's talking to her or Santanico, but figures that it's probably their guest that he's directing the question at when she flicks her eyes towards him and sees that he's looking down at Santanico and not at her.

Santanico looks at all three of them before saying, "as I said to Kate, I'm here to get your help."

Kate hears Scott letting a bite of bitter laughter leave his mouth before he shuts it resolutely allowing Freddie to question her again. "Why do _you_ need our help?" His emphasis being on _you-_ as though he can't believe that the one they call the Goddess could possibly want or need their help.

"I need you to help me save Richard and Seth!"

Kate can't believe her ears. Her head whips around to catch Freddie's eyes, but only sees his normal patient expression. He gives nothing away and Kate wants to scream and shout, demanding answers just before she grabs every weapon available and charges to the rescue.

"Well, your highness, you better tell us what's going on." Freddie says to Santanico with his even tone as Kate tries her best to get her hammering heart under control. She needs to hear this next bit if she has any hope of rescuing Seth.

Santanico then begins to explain what her and the Gecko's have been up to for the past year or so – not much of it being a surprise to them as they had often seen the aftermath. She then goes on to map out in detail their latest plan and her concerns about it.

"The plan is a good one. Malvado will be dead, his operation finished, and I will be free. I fear, though, that _los hermanos_ may have gotten in deeper than they can control. I need to be their back-up, but I cannot do it alone," Santanico tells them. She pauses before looking directly at Kate and pleading with her. " _Por favor,_ I know that you love them too and I know what you've been doing for the past year. You are the only hope I have to make sure they get out safe, Katerina."

All through Santanico's explanation, Kate's fears for Seth and Richie had been imploding inside of her. And before Santanico has even finished explaining, Kate's already mentally packing the truck and making sure that they will have all they need to rescue those stupid Geckos.

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Scott spits in both Santanico and Freddie's direction. Kate's not sure which one he wants the reassurance from.

"Doesn't matter," Kate answers instead. "If there is even a small likelihood that Seth and Richie are in danger, then I'm going to be the first to get them out."

Kate's conviction seems to placate Scott somewhat- he is fully aware of his sister's feelings for the elder Gecko. After they had managed to save Scott from himself, Kate and Scott had become closer than ever- they having shared their secrets and their hopes for the future. She's not sure if it was the trauma of it all or if the future was the only bright shiny thing in this life they have been living. Whatever the cause, they both know that the other had their backs and this was definitely one of those occasions where Kate needs Scott to have her back.

Kate turns to look at Freddie finally, knowing that if she is in then Scott is too, but Freddie is definitely not a Gecko fan. Freddie is at the moment contemplating his boots, so she waits until his dark head rises up from his boot staring before saying anything. "Freddie?" is all she manages.

"I'm in, Kate." He'd knew exactly what the question had been when she said his name. "This is what we've been working towards- killing Malvado. Maybe then I can go home for good."

Kate can't help but respond to the small smile on Freddie's face with a smile of her own. She'd only met Margaret and Billie a couple of times, but she is stoked at the idea of Freddie getting to go home.

So as it stands, the decision has been made- they are about to bring down a Lord and rescue the Gecko's. Kate is very pleased that she had taken the time to learn how to use all the weapons in her arsenal 'cause she's afraid that this next task would put all those skills to the test.

* * *

The plan is a simple one.

They would head out that evening under the cover of dark to protect Santanico and Scott. They would go in fully loaded with weapons to kill Culebras and special knives for Malvado. They would also be carrying some of the Well's blood- they had discovered a couple of barrels of it during one of their raids and it had easily been sustaining Scott these past few months. They hoped that they didn't need it, but Santanico had seen Malvado's preferred methods of torture and she wants to be prepared to have Richard walk out of that place in one piece.

They head out just after sunset with Freddie driving the truck, and Kate and Scott by his side as they follow Santanico's bike lights. Stopping eventually under a copse of trees in the middle of nowhere, _it_ appeared- They just needed to trust that Santanico wasn't leading them astray.

Santanico waits for them to grab their weapons before heading off into the darkness. They walk for about a mile before Santanico signals them to be quiet, and motions for them to crouch as they make their way up an embankment. She signals them to look over the top as they lay just below it, heads down to avoid discovery. Kate slowly looks over to discover a bar down below. It's not as busy or as over the top as the Titty Twister, but it was open, lights on and several vehicles parked outside.

"Stick to the plan," Santanico whispers. "Head in, don't get involved unless approached, and head towards the back where there is an elevator down to Malvado's lair. We go in together and keep together. The only way this works is _together_." Grasping each of their hands in turn as though wishing them luck, Santanico starts to head towards the bar. After only a couple of steps she turns back to flash them an evil smile. "Malvado's mine!"

They walk into the bar with an air of determination and for the most part, the crowd ignores them and continues to eat, dance and drink. But, of course, it would be too easy if they got to the elevator undisturbed. Several of Malvado's pets catch on to their presence and tackle them, but each one is dispensed with a quick burst of flame and ash. It's over so quickly that they make it the elevator before the humans start to scream.

They make there way through Malvado's lair checking doors and dispatching Culebras as they go. It's all done with steely determination and flashes of silver sword, duller machete, the _thwang_ of a crossbow and wet squelches of Santanico's hand ripping hearts from chests. As they make their way through the layers of the Lord's underground hideout, Kate begins to wonder if the Gecko's are even still alive. It feels like they have been at this for hours and they haven't yet seen any evidence of the brothers.

The next room they come to is locked, but with the key on the outside. Kate tenses before Freddie opens it and then recoils as the smell of death and blood explodes out of the room as the door swings open. Santanico immediately barges past them and into the room, her eyes alive with fear as her nostrils flare at the familiar scent.

Kate's hand flies to cover her mouth as she finds it hard to suppress the nausea at the sight in front of her. Like Christ on the cross, Richie is impaled to the wall. His whole body is a mass of open wounds and his skin a warm rust colour from the blood- so much blood- that has pooled on the floor below him.

"Scott, the blood. Now!" Santanico spits at him as she races towards Richie.

Her hands gently reach to hold either side of his head and she pleads with him to wake up. Kate feels the tears start to sting the back of her eyes 'cause if Richie were human he'd be dead, and if this is what they have done to one of there own kind...

 _Can there be any hope for Seth?_

Santanico begins to pour the Well blood into Richie's mouth and tries her best not to spill any of it. It's difficult as his head keeps falling to the side, so Kate makes her way over and helps her hold his head up. Freddie and Scott guard the door as Kate tries to ignore the fact that her boots are soaking up Richie's spilt blood. It's all really grotesque, Kate much prefers the fire and ash, but she can't help the happy chuckle that escapes her mouth as Richie opens his eyes and she finally allows herself to look at him only to find that the wounds are completely gone.

Richie, however, appears to be in some kind of orgasmic trance.

"It's the blood," Scott says to her when he catches the concerned look on her face. "It's just that good."

She can feel the muscles in Richie's neck tensing and thinks that she can maybe let go now. To her relief, she sees that he's quite capable of holding his head up so she tentatively loosens her hold and steps out of his blood to stand away from the two reunited lovers. Richie seems to snap out of his trance at her movements and lifts his head up to stop the flow of blood down his neck.

"Richard.." Santanico says, trying to recapture his attention back on the blood, but he turns to look at Kate and gives her a big toothy grin.

"Where's Seth?" is the first thing out of his mouth.

"We haven't found him yet." Kate tells him softly.

"Well what the hell are we waiting for?" Richie suddenly seethes and Kate watches in awe as he tenses all his muscles up and bursts out of the restraints holding him to the wall. The burst of energy though seems to sap the strength out of him and Richie tries to catch himself as he falls to the ground.

"You need more blood, Richard. You're not at full strength," Santanico admonishes him.

"Sorry. I was feeling so good there for a minute. Just leave me here to recover. You need to go and get Seth."

"I'll stay and make sure he drinks the rest of it," Santanico tells them

"No! You need to go and deal with Malvado. This is your chance," Richie tells her as he gently touches her cheek. "You can leave Scott with me if you're concerned, but you need to go, and Kate needs to be there for Seth. Scott and I will be fine."

Santanico gives him a stern look, but finally agrees with him and nods to the team. Gathering themselves, they head towards the door leaving Richie and Scott behind.

"He loves you, you know," Richie says to Kate before she leaves the room.

"Good!" Kate tells him with a smile. "I better go and save our boy then."

* * *

They don't encounter anymore Culebras at the head for the heart of Malvado's lair. Kate takes up point with her crossbow raised and ready, Santanico in the middle stalking through the hallway like a model on the runway, and finally Freddie brings up the rear with his machete. The hallway ahead is much brighter and more ornate than the previous ones, and the door at the end is large with an elaborately designed wooden door.

"This is it," Santanico murmurs. "You go in first, as he'll sense me straight away. Get his attention and I will come in and finish him."

Both Freddie and Kate nod at her to show their understanding before heading off towards the door. Kate slowly pushes the door open and advances as quietly as possible into the room. Immediately, she has to bite back the gasp of pain that hits her as she sees Seth in the hands of Malvado, but before she can even think, she's taken the shot. A shot not meant to kill, but to get Malvado's attention away from Seth and onto her.

Her shot fires true and slices into Malvado's back causing him to stagger back and rip his hands away from Seth's head. He turns towards Kate and Freddie with rage etched into his expression, grabbing at the arrow in his back as he allows his features to change and his Culebra face to flow through.

Hearing the anger from Malvado spurs Santanico into action and she races through the doorway with fangs out and obsidian knives drawn. She doesn't allow him time to talk as she knows the kind of manipulative trash that will spew out of him since she has had centuries of dealing with this, and she just needs to end it.

The fight is quick what with Santanico being full of rage and justified vengeance, and Malvado not being convinced that she really wants to kill him. He doesn't see that his delusions of a happily ever after with his queen at his side are about to come to a bitter end.

When Santanico finally manages to get Malvado to his knees, Freddie restrains him from behind. His Culebra face retreats as he pleads with her to think about El Rey, to think of a future where she can walk in the sun, but Santanico just looks at him with contempt.

 _Did he really think she would follow him forever?_

With a final thrust of her knives, she carves into his chest and releases his snake. Grabbing the black serpent, she holds it in the air and watches as the realisation of his future hits his face. She holds his gaze as she slowly cuts the head off his snake and causes them both to flare into flame before falling as ashes to the ground. Staring at the smoldering ash on the floor doesn't give her any sense of relief. She still feels empty- vengeance and hate having filled her for so long that she has no idea what to do now that it is over.

Gathering herself, Santanico looks up, to see Kate and Freddie gently laying a passed out Seth onto the floor. She watches with vague interest as Kate pulls supplies from her backpack, and proceeds to clean and bandage Seth's wounds.

"We need to leave," She finally tells them.

"Give me two minutes. I need to make sure he doesn't bleed out while we're moving him," Kate tells her earnestly.

It's been so long since she was human that sometimes she forgets just how fragile they are. She makes her way over to the doorway, having decided to stand guard whilst Kate and Freddie fix up Seth for transport. Upon reaching the door, she's pleasantly surprised to see Richard and Scott heading towards her. Her face breaks out in a wide smile as she sees that he's fully recovered and walking tall all on his own. And as he reaches her, Richie pulls her into a tight embrace and leaves a hot wet kiss on her exposed neck.

"Thank you for bringing the Cavalry, Babe. Don't know what I would do without you," Richie murmurs into her hair.

She can't help but hold him tighter in response. She'd come very close to losing him for what- vengeance? He really was the best thing to happen to her in centuries, so maybe it was time to really start living. Giving him a final squeeze, Santanico lets him go and watches fondly as he strides over to Kate and Freddie to find out about his brother.

She's not feeling quite so empty now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Bedside Confessions**

It is the very early hours of the morning and Kate can see the stars twinkling brightly in the midnight blue sky beyond the bedroom window. The gas lit room is silent apart from the even breaths of the man lying sleeping like an unwanted rag doll in the large metal posted bed across the room. Kate wonders back to the chair beside the bed to continue her vigil over the unconscious, battered and bandaged Seth.

Seth had fallen unconscious as Kate and Freddie were releasing him from the chains in Malvado's lair. Once they had assessed he wounds, and bound up the worst of them, they had transported him to their safe house. Since both Kate and Freddie had become quite adept at dealing with wounds caused by culebras, there had been no need to involve a professional in patching him up. And even though his injuries are more severe than they are used to, Kate is pretty sure that he is going to be okay. Nothing had been broken, all his scrapes had been easily disinfected and the lacerations sewn up, which then left Kate patiently waiting for him to wake.

Scott, Richie, and Santanico ( _Kisa_ to her friends)- an exclusive club which Kate now finds herself a part of- had stayed behind to clean up. Kisa and Richie have a plan for the future of the culebras which Kate hopes is successful as it would mean retirement for both her and Freddie. Whilst dealing with the culebras, they also plan on redistributing much of the wealth they found at Malvado's lair. She'd not at first realized that the brother's plan was not just vengeance for Kisa, but a heist too- Kate having almost smacked herself in the head when Richie had explained. Trust the Gecko brothers to kill two birds with one stone.

Kate then had to smirk at her musings as she watched a sleeping Seth. _You knew what you were getting yourself into, girl! You fell in love with a man on the run._

The sound of the bedroom door slowly opening breaks through the silence of the room and forces Kate's gaze up from the bed. Richie pops his head round the door and looks with undisguised concern at Seth in the bed. His gaze then catches Kate's and he motions for her to come into the hall. She's a bit surprised to see him as she had not heard them arriving.

"Has he woken up yet?" He asks her, concern still shining in his eyes.

"Not yet, but his pulse is steady and I just think his body is taking it's precious time to recover. I'm sure he'll wake soon," she tells him as she places a comforting hand on his forearm.

Kate's completely take aback when Richie pulls her into a tight hug, she's honestly not expecting any form of affection from him- _Yes, they had kissed that one time, but that was almost two years ago._

"How are you holding up, Kate?" Richie then asks her as he pulls back to look at her face, his hands moving to gently rub both her shoulders.

"I'm fine," she tells him, all whilst trying not to give away the puzzlement that is coursing through her head. It's Seth that is lying injured in the bedroom beyond the door, not her. She'd come out completely unscathed and her little family were perfectly okay, too, so she's really confused as to why Richie is concerned about her.

She is obviously not that good at concealing her confusion as Richie's next words seem to explain his concern. "You both think you hide it so well." Even more confused now, Kate opens her mouth to ask what he's going on about, but closes her mouth just as quickly as Richie goes on. "He really missed you, Kate. Pretty sure that not one day has gone by that he hasn't thought of you these past months. Part of the reason he's been helping me and Kisa is so that he could get back to you. He's been fighting this whole time, keeping us safe and fighting to free Kisa so that he would be the man you deserve."

Kate just stares at him in stunned silence and she watches the laughter fill Richie's eyes causing her mouth to open and close- like a goldfish swimming around it's bowl- as she tries to form a sentence or even pose a question. A million things pop into her head at his confession, but the most prominent one is _why?_

 _Why did he let her go?_

 _Why did he dump her in the middle of the night on a deserted road in Mexico if he felt that way?_

Almost as if Richie could read her mind- maybe the questions are literally flying across her face just for Richie to read them- he says, "It was the only way to keep you safe."

Kate swiftly brings her hand up to cover her mouth as she doubles over. Even she's not sure whether it's to cover up a burst of laughter or a cry of anger. After all this time to finally find out he was breaking her heart just to keep her safe, it's a little more than she can cope with.

"Stay with him," she spits out at Richie as she hurtles down the stairs and out the front door.

Flinging herself against the side of Freddie's truck, Kate finally allows the tears to fall. Her feelings bound from anger at him hurting her so epically and it being a total failure, to joy when she realises that he cares for her and maybe might care for her as much as she does for him.

She wills the tears to stop falling, hoping to avoid making her skin blotchy, blocking her nose, and giving her an awful headache because she absolutely hates that. Plus, she's got no tissues with her and it is just gross wiping it on her sleeve. But realizing the inevitable, she's about to go for the gross sleeve wipe when a hand with tissues appears, as if by magic, under her fallen hair. She grabs at them and does her best to clean up before looking up to see Freddie standing before her, and within the blink of an eye she's in his arms- so fast that the thought hadn't made it's way through her achy head.

"What's wrong, Kate? I thought Seth was looking alright. Did we miss something?"

She shakes her head, unable to respond just quite yet. Freddie seems to understand and just holds her a few minutes as she calms down. She knows he's really not used to seeing this side of her, but he has a wife and daughter so she's pretty sure he can cope with this display of _freak out_ from her.

Moments pass before Kate pulls herself together and utilises more tissues from Freddie who apparently came prepared. "I'm fine. Seth is fine, although he's not awake yet. Everything is fine," she mumbles distractedly, but then backtracks with a frown. "Actually, that's probably what _this_ is."

Freddie gives her a questioning look, but he waits for her to go on.

"Oh, alright!" She says eventually. Nothing gets past Freddie and she's not going to get away with that explanation. "I had a chat with Richie. Well, actually, I said very little. It was more Richie talking to me. He suggested that Seth might still care for me and that he only got rid of me to save me."

Kate can see that Freddie isn't overly impressed with this explanation either. He is still not the biggest Gecko fan, although she knows that tonight has gone a long way towards changing his mind. "So why the tears?" He sighs, not arguing about Kate's choice in men.

"I think that I was just overwhelmed. Our last interaction was him shouting at me and then tossing me aside to save me! And you know how successful that plan turned out to be."

Freddie just nods because he does know. _He knows_ what Kate went through after Seth had left her to supposedly return home to the safety of Bethel.

"I went from pure anger at him for taking that decision away from me- for it being a failed attempt at saving me- to this growing bundle of joy surfacing when I realised that the fight is over and just maybe, _maybe_ I can get my bright shiny future. It all just hit me in one go and burst out of me via these water works." Kate ruefully glances back up at Freddie as she finishes her confession and finds that he's smiling back at her. She finally releases the big grin that she's been holding back right back at him.

"Yep, Kate, that's it. We did it. I get to go home and you get to ride off into the sunset with your outlaw." Freddie is shaking his head at her, but the smile on his face gives away his true feelings. He can't wait to go home.

"When are you heading out?" She asks him. She's always been prepared for Freddie to go home. It's one of the reasons they have been fighting so hard, but she knows that she's really going to miss him and his steady support.

"I'll head out once Seth wakes up. I want to have a chat with him before taking my leave."

Going by the smirk on Freddie's face, Kate is pretty sure he's going to have a shovel talk with Seth before he heads off. She can't help a similar smirk then appearing on her face, she gives him a brief nod of understanding. Freddie has been the protective, supportive big brother to both Scott and herself during this whole culebra slaying adventure, so she's not about to stop him from what he feels is right and just maybe it will be funny for Seth to get a little taste of his own medicine.

Let's see how he likes that.

* * *

Kate slips into the bathroom to clean herself up before heading back to her bedroom- the one that Seth is occupying at the moment. The light from gas lamp doesn't show any blemishes from her crying when she checks her reflection in the mirror above the sink, and that's good enough for Kate. If she can't see it then she doubts Seth will be able to either. As for Richie, who knows what he's capable of. She knows about the hearing and the mind powers, but can he see tell-tale tear tracks in poor light?

As she opens the door to the bedroom, she can see that Seth is still sleeping in the bed and Richie is pacing by the window. Going over to Richie, she asks quietly if Seth has woken up yet. Richie just replies with a quick shake of his head.

"Are you going to sit with him?" He asks Kate quietly.

"Yeah."

"I need to go see Kisa. Will you call me if he wakes? Just say my name aloud and I should hear you," Richie murmurs and gives her shoulder a quick squeeze before he heads for the door.

Kate makes her way back to the chair sitting beside Seth's bed. Sitting down, she yawns and realises that the night is starting to catch up to her. She ponders her options for a couple of minutes before sliding off her boots and crawling onto the empty space of bed beside Seth. She stays on top of the covers and just pulls the throw from the bottom of the bed up and over her. Then settling on her side, she lowers her head to the pillow next to Seth's and watches for any signs that he's waking up. She's careful not to touch any of him, what with him being so battered and bruised, as she's scared that she will cause him more pain if she touches him. Glancing down, she looks at his hand that they hadn't need to fix anything on and thinks it would be okay for her to hold it. Tenderly wrapping her hand around his, Kate lets a little huff of contentment slip past her lips.

 _He's so warm and home,_ are her last thoughts as exhaustion pulls her into slumber.

* * *

Seth drifts slowly into consciousness and unfortunately consciousness is quickly followed by pain which forces him to have to immediately suppress a groan. He tenses straight away- still in fight or flight mode- since his last memory is Malvado's lair and he's not sure what situation he's waking up to. He doesn't immediately open his eyes, but tries his best to keep his breath light and even- keeping the illusion of sleep and uses his other senses to help him figure out the situation. He can tell that he's no longer hanging from the ceiling, instead he's lying down and with a slight move of his leg he can feel covers on him. There is a faint smell of strawberries and he can hear breathing to his left, and there are none of the smells or noises associated with his time at Malvado's mercy so he thinks that he can chance a look around.

Opening his one good eye- the other is still swollen shut- allows Seth to take in his surroundings. He appears to be in a bright sunny bedroom with patchy wallpaper covered in yellow flowers. In front of the bed is a large bay window looking out to blue skies, and the lack of curtains at the window allows the sunlight to stream in illuminating the whole room. He slowly turns his head to the left to check out the breathing coming from that direction and - _Fuck! I'm hallucinating again_ , he thinks. He blinks as he tries to clear his vision, but it doesn't seem to work as she is still there.

Lying beside him in peaceful slumber is the most beautiful girl he's ever seen- pale skin, peachy lips, and glossy dark hair spread across the pillow. He slowly brings his hand up to gently rub his knuckles along her cheek, but hesitates before doing so as he's really not ready for the illusion to dissipate. In the end, he knows that he needs to confirm whether she's actually real or just a happy dream.

He then finally allows his knuckles to graze her cheek- it's the barest of touches, but it's enough to make his breath hitch at the feel of her soft skin against his. He quickly suppresses his groan of pleasure at the sensation as he doesn't want to wake the sleeping beauty beside him. He is delighted, though, when she rubs her cheek against his hand and a little moan of pleasure escapes her lips just like a cat seeking a petting from it's owner. He watches her intently as she slowly opens her eyes and he can't suppress the happy smile that breaks out as she looks at him.

His "Morning, Sweetheart," comes out lower and raspier than he would like- no doubt because his mouth is dry and his face is swollen.

Kate immediately bounces out of bed and comes round to grab the water sitting in a jug bedside the bed. He's somewhat disconcerted as she hurriedly pours him some and then helps him up to take a drink, all the while not speaking to him.

"Kate?" He says after taking a drink. It still comes out a little slurred due to all the swelling, but at least he's not so dry now.

She deliberately puts the glass back on the side table and helps Seth to sit up by placing more pillows behind him. The fussing gives her time to settle her nerves before she speaks. "How are you feeling?" She queries.

"Better than I was when I was hanging in Malvado's throne room."

Kate hides the smile this comment causes. She's missed his snark so much. "That's good. We don't think you've sustained any permanent damage, although you're going to have a new battle scar on your forehead." This causes Seth to reach up and trace the bandage covering his forehead. "Don't worry. It will just add to your charm."

"Charm?" Seth queries with a small smirk and a lift of his eyebrow.

Kate blatantly ignores this opening as she's not ready to start flirting yet. They have much to discuss first and she really needs to let Richie know he's awake.

"Richie?" She says rather hesitantly.

This one word jolts Seth and a worried look appears on his face. "What about Richie?"

"Richie is fine," she reassures him. "I'm just letting him know you're awake."

Seth lies back against the pillows with a sigh of relief. He'd not thought about his brother until Kate had said his name, but as soon as she had the dread had settled in his stomach. He'd not seen Richie since stepping into the corridor from the elevator and other than one brief comment from Malvado, he didn't really know if Richie was alive or a pile of ash somewhere.

 _Speak of the devil_ , Seth muses as his brother pops his head round the bedroom door.

"Hey! Is that anyway to greet your only brother?"

 _Damn._ He'd forgotten about Richie's mind reading powers.

The younger Gecko then makes his way over to the bed to get a better idea of how Seth is doing.

"I'll leave you both to catch up," Kate says as she makes her way towards the door.

"Don't go," Seth pleads as he's not ready for her to disappear. His head has only just figured out that she is real and he has so much to talk to her about.

Kate just smiles at him before reassuring him that she'll be back soon. "I'm just going to go find you some pain medication and some food. I won't be long."

He nods slightly at her a little reassured, but still not happy at her leaving.

"So when are you going to stop lazing around and get out of bed?" Richie snarks at him from the chair bedside the bed. He's about to get all antsy with him, but pulls it back when he sees the grin on his brother's face.

"Fuck you."

"Now, now, what's with that attitude? It's not my fault you're so keen to keep your human skin. If you'd let me turn you, you'd be healed already, and then maybe you could have made those Kate fantasies a reality by now."

Seth lets out a loud groan as he runs his hands through his hair. He's not quite ready for this, what with feeling almost every muscle in his body screaming in pain. His face feels so swollen that he's sure he looks like the Elephant Man and to top it all off, the blood is rushing from his brain to his dick with the mention of _Kate_ and _fantasy_ in the same sentence is making him feel light-headed.

Richie is not oblivious to Seth's pain so he decides to pull back on the full on snark. He's just so relieved and happy that his brother is awake that it's difficult not to fall back into the usual pattern of communication with Seth. "So do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Seth honestly doesn't want to know what the bad news is so he goes the safe route. "Good stuff."

"Malvado was absolutely minted, as we thought, and now it's ours. We cleared him out totally and dispersed the culebras. The operation is completely closed down and Kisa is working on changing the ways of our people," Richie tells him with a large grin on his face. "Plus, we all got out in one piece, albeit you're a little worse for wear."

Seth can't help the rueful smile that appears on his face at the thought of the operation being closed down. It had been awful watching the procession of humans being marched into that bar and he's glad that it's over. Plus, if Richie is to be believed, he's now a rich man from doing the right thing which is something that he never saw coming.

"Okay, I can live with that. What is the bad news?"

"Well, you need to persuade the beautiful Kate that you love her and that you want to make me some gorgeous nephews and nieces with her, all whilst looking like you just stepped out of Notre Dame and that would be the French cathedral I'm talking about, not the University." Seth gapes and Richie can't help but laugh at the expression on his brother's face. He's being bad, but he wouldn't rib his brother if he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Kate's feelings for Seth run just as deep as his for her. "But seriously, Seth, we did it."

Seth can tell where he's going with this so he starts it for him. "Here's to getting rich and fat-"

And just as Kate walks through the door with a laden tray, Richie finishes with, "-and dying in the arms of a beautiful woman."

"There will be no dying any time soon and as for getting fat, well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the one doing that, not either of you." The words just burst out of her mouth and there is nothing she can do to stop it. Nor can she stop the blush spreading across her cheeks and down her neck- _I actually said that out loud!-_ and the blush just gets worse as both Gecko's look at her inquisitively. She can't even cover her face as she's still carrying Seth's tray of food.

Hesitantly setting the tray on the unoccupied side of the bed, Kate lets her hair fall around her face and gives herself a moment to repair her fluttering heart and hot face.

"Well, that's my cue," Richie says as Kate fusses over the tray. "Get some food and rest, and I'll talk to you later." Before leaving, however, he turns back to Seth and says with a smirk, "Good luck."

* * *

Seth's not good with his words- well, that's not strictly true- what he's no good at is expressing his feelings using words. He's great at selling and he's great at telling a story, and he can most definitely argue and snark his way out of almost any situation. But what he needs now is to be good at convincing this girl in front of him that he wants a second chance. He _needs_ to convince her that he's exactly what she needs.

"You shut up and eat," Kate says as she picks up the bowl of soup and hands it to him before he can say anything. She's managed to get her fluttering heart and hot cheeks under control, and has been watching the expressions flit across his face since Richie left the room. Once his face had settled on a sincere expression she'd known that he was about to start talking, but she really needed him to eat and take his medication before they got into anything heavy. Besides, his soup was getting cold.

Seth's mouth drops open a little at her outburst, but he doesn't say anything and simply obeys her, and starts eating his soup. She hands him a couple of pills which he dutifully tosses into his mouth, and takes a spoon of soup to wash them down.

Kate's fidgety- she's not sure what to do or say- and she tries sitting on her hands, but only ends up feeling like a school girl waiting to see the principle. She gets up to leave, but stops when Seth speaks. "Don't go. Please sit and talk to me," he says as he reaches out to her. "If you won't let me speak, how about you tell me what's been happening with you?"

Kate sits back down and looks at him. It takes a moment for her to start talking as she's not sure what to tell him or where to start, but thinks maybe the beginning will do. "So after you freaking dumped me in Mexico, I used the money to buy a car and headed home to look for Scott."

 _Wow! Okay maybe that wasn't the best way to start. I'm so not over that_ , she thinks.

Seth looks up at her with a pained expression, but doesn't say anything. He just nods and lets her continue.

"Anyway, I came home and found Scott living at our house in Bethel. It was awful. _He_ was awful! I ended up having to bury one of my girl friends when he went nuts one night and killed her when feeding." She feels Seth's hand reach out to grasp hers and he gives it a squeeze before nodding for her to continue. "Okay. Well, I had Freddie's number so I called him when I realised that Scott was more messed up than I had first thought. It was a good thing I did, too, as he saved me from becoming a culebra. Can you believe it? My own brother thought the best way to save me was to turn me!" She scoffs.

She'd pushed aside all these memories when Scott had changed and become part of the team, so it was hard to bring them back up, but she really needed Seth to know that she wasn't that naive little school girl anymore. "We lost Scott for a while, but I wasn't out of danger. I had become something of a culebra magnet. They appeared to be everywhere and they just knew that I knew what they were. So I asked Freddie to teach me how to defend my self. You should see me. I can shoot, I can throw a knife as accurately as Richie can, and I'm pretty damn excellent with my crossbow."

She watches as these revelations sink in and she can see his feelings run across his face- the pain from her telling him about being a target to the pride at her accomplishments. He still obeys though and doesn't say anything.

"Freddie and I ended up as some kind of culebra slaying team because I was a target and so was Freddie due to Malvado and Sex Machine. We caught up with Scott eventually and I tried to prepare myself for what might have been a horrendous decision to make." She shudders as she remembers that day. She's so glad that it never came to that. "Thankfully, Scott had seen some stuff and had to do some stuff that really made him question the life he was leading. Family ended up being the most important thing to him, so he joined us and has been my protector ever since." That seems to be a good place to stop as that is in essence exactly what she's been up to. And, anyway, Seth has finished his soup.

She sits back in the chair looking at Seth expectantly. "Shit, Kate, I didn't mean it."

Confusion crosses her face at his words _. Didn't mean what?_

"All that stuff I said in the car?" He clarifies. "I just needed you to go home- to be safe! Christ, the Regulator was about to kill you to get to me and Richie. I just couldn't take the chance that the next time he would succeed."

"So you thought the best way to save me was to break my heart?"

"No, but I knew you, Kate. If I had explained, you would have dug your heels in and never let me go. You would have needed to save me, but I needed you to be safe and ever since then I've been fighting to get back to you."

Kate can't help the smile that lights up her face. That was almost exactly what Richie had said. Seth watches her as his words sink in – hopefully he'd got his words right this time and going by the happy look on her face, he thinks she's maybe ready for the rest of his confession.

Leaning forward and suppressing a groan of pain, Seth grabs both Kate's hands and gently pulls her to sit beside him on the bed. "Kate, look at me." He waits as she lifts her head to look at him and he continues all whilst holding her hands in his. "Princess, I love you. Thoughts of you are the only thing that got me through that shit storm. I am so sorry for hurting you and I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you'll let me. Will you?"

This time he's unable to suppress the groan of pain as Kate lips latch onto his, but then they're gone as quickly as they landed when she remembers all his injuries. "Oh God, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She practically cries.

Chuckling gently at her concern, Seth pulls her into his embrace. "It's okay, Princess. You just need to be a little gentle with me at the moment," he tells her and lightly presses his lips to hers. It's so far removed from what he actually wants to do, but it is no less precious.

Pulling back and settling Kate beside him, they both slide down so they're lying facing each other with their hands tangled together.

"So do you want to tell me what you meant by you're the one going to get fat?" He asks her with a smirk.

The blush that creeps across Kate's pale face is beautiful to behold and it sets his imagination off into visions of Kate with a round swelling stomach. "I want kids!" She blurts out and he's not sure who is more surprised by the outburst- her or him? "Actually, I want kids with you," Kate then clarifies after briefly clearing her throat.

There's a moment of silence and then, "Okay. Give me a couple of weeks to recover and we'll get on to that."

* * *

 **Author Note:**

This completes my first ever multi-chapter fic.  
I've only been writing for two months and I have learnt so much.

I really hope I have managed to bring my story to life for you.

I would love your opinions on my writing, on this story and even ideas for other stories.  
Thank you kindly for reading my ramblings.


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